Theater counts: The defender of Gotham is back with a colossal opening count for The Batman

March 3, 2022

It’s no surprise, but welcome news nonetheless, that this week’s arrival of The Batman in 4,417 locations puts the film not only as the widest release of the week, but puts it in 13th place among the widest releases of all time, nestled between two animated sequels—Frozen II and Incredibles 2—which debuted in 4,440 and 4,410 theaters respectively. As the only wide release to debut this week, the latest in the Batman franchise also eclipses last year’s No Time to Die (4,407 theaters), and Spider-Man: No Way Home’s 4,336 locations to become the widest release of the (post-)pandemic era.

Directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman stars Robert Pattinson as the billionaire Bruce Wayne (aka: Batman) as he uncovers corruption in Gotham City, while pursuing the Riddler, a serial killer who targets Gotham’s elite. Featuring a bevy of well known Hollywood talent including Colin Farrell, John Turturro and Zoë Kravitz, the film opened in 350 IMAX locations on March 1st before its official release on Friday, March 4th. It is also the first superhero film to open in China since the release of Wonder Woman 1984. Meanwhile, Warner Bros. has canceled the Russian release of the film in response to their recent invasion on Ukraine. The Batman franchise has collected over $6 billion in earnings worldwide.

Still humming along is Uncharted, coming in on 3,875 theaters this week, while Dog drops from 3,827 to 3,507 locations; Spider-Man: No Way Home dips below 3,000 locations for the first time, landing this week in 2,709 theaters, and lastly to round out the top five, Death on the Nile drops to 2,565 locations.

While the big news might be on The Batman, a handful of limited releases are hitting the big screen this weekend. Huda’s Salon is the latest from IFC Films. The psychological thriller in which a young mother is blackmailed into betraying her people is set to arrive in 30 locations. Also opening this week is Great Freedom. The Austrian-German drama set in post-war Germany follows a man named Hans, who, despite liberation by the Allies, is imprisoned once again under a new law criminalizing homosexuality.

Theater Counts for March 4

Bruce Nash

Filed under: Theater Counts, Batman, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Frozen, The Incredibles, DC Extended Universe, Wonder Woman, Sony’s Marvel Universe, Colin Farrell, Robert Pattinson, John Turturro, Zoë Kravitz